Lighting up an anniversary

The Snoqualmie Depot is the Northwest Railway Museum's most recognizable landmark, and its signature exhibit.  Built in 1890, the Depot is a City of Snoqualmie, Washington Landmark, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  It is the centrepiece of historic downtown Snoqualmie and receives more than 80,000 visitors per year.

2017 is a Landmark year for the Northwest Railway Museum. It marks the 60th anniversary of the Museum, and the 50th anniversary of the Museum's excursion trains at the Museum in Snoqualmie. The Museum's Board of Trustees is marking the occasion with a notable improvement to the Depot: installation of a replica lamp to the gentlemen's waiting room. The lamp was produced by W.T. Kirkman of Ramona, CA and arrived in April 2017.

The Snoqualmie Depot opened during the late Victorian period when it was not uncommon for public facilities to provide separate accommodation for unescorted ladies. So the Depot was constructed with a separate ladies' and gentlemen's waiting room.  The largest and most distinctive room in the Depot is the gentlemen's waiting room. It features a semicircular wall, beautiful colored glass windows, and tongue and groove wall paneling. The clear vertical grain Douglas fir floor is another notable feature. And now, so is a replica of a 19th Century kerosene chandelier!

Special thanks to the 2016 Northwest Railway Museum Board of Trustee members whose contributions made this project possible. Now, we can light up an anniversary to remember!